The Genesee Region USBC will be conducting its Annual Banquet & Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday, May 11 at Batavia Downs Gaming’s Genesee Banquet Room.
The event will get underway at 6 p.m. with a memorial service in honor of members of the bowling community who passed away over the last year.
Highlights of the evening include the induction of brothers Tim and Tom Rohl into the association’s Hall of Fame in the Bowling Achievement category, presentation of the Barbara J. Kreiley Memorial Scholarship and recognition of tournament and regular season league champions.
Election of officers and directors also will take place, along with voting to raise the annual Standard and Local Only Adult membership dues by $1.
The cost of the buffet dinner is $35, with the following exceptions:
NO CHARGE – GRUSBC directors, Adult Tournament Champions (limit one tournament only), Youth Tournament Champions and one guest (limit one tournament only), guest speaker and one guest, Hall of Fame inductees and one guest.
$20 PER PERSON – Past GRUSBC Hall of Famers, league secretary or representative (limit one per league).
The reservation deadline is May 4. The banquet is open to all GRUSBC members, with a reservation deadline of May 4.
Please RSVP by sending an email to mikep@bowlgr.com or by calling 585-343-3736.
ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT CONCLUDES
The 17th Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament concluded this afternoon at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.
Unofficial winners of the various divisions are as follows:
Open Team -- Christ Recycling, Albion, 2,860. Robbie Hanks' 300 game and 805 series on the tournament's opening squad sparked the team to the big score and it held on for first place. Other team members were Albert Burch (631), Larry Boyce (523) and Marvin Christ (483). The team received 418 pins handicap.
Women's Team -- Splitz & Giggles, Albion, 2,501. Barbara Casavant posted 604 scratch to lead the way. Other members were Sharon Stefanini (306), Tiffany Crawford (522) and Breanna Seever (502). The team received 590 pins handicap.
Open Doubles -- Daryl Dillon & Greg Gilman, Albion, 1,524. Bowling on the final squad on Sunday, Dillon registered 682 and Gilman rolled 651 for 1,333 scratch plus 191 pins handicap.
Women's Doubles -- Karen Allis & Jane Chaddock, Batavia, 1,284. Chaddock posted 566 and Allis had 532 on the second to last squad of the tournament. They received 186 pins handicap.
Open Singles -- Jeremy Yasses, Oakfield, 781. Yasses recorded games of 246-211-235 for 692 scratch. With his 89 pins handicap (based on 192 average), he took the lead on the Sunday morning squad.
Women's Singles -- Breanna Seever, Albion, 654. Seever started with a 211 game and went on to roll 522 scratch. Her 132 pins handicap enabled her to top the leaderboard, and she went on to place first in Women's All-Events as well.
Open All-Events -- Scott Culp, Honeoye Falls-Lima, 2,262. Culp put up the winning score without the benefit of handicap. His three series were 747 (Team), 773 (Doubles) and 742 (Singles).
NOTE: Members of Early Access Pass get first crack (four hours earlier access than non-members) at making Deals of the Day purchases. Join Early Access Pass today to ensure you don't miss any valuable deals.
New Justice For Children Advocacy Center Program Coordinator Trisha Reynolds. Photo by Joanne Beck
There are some career paths that seem so riddled with potential pain that there might not seem like an adequate answer for why one chooses it.
Yet, time and time again, there are people willing to step up and take on the grimy jobs, such as fighting for children who have been sexually or physically abused or who have witnessed violence.
Enter Trisha Reynolds, Genesee County’s new Justice for Children Advocacy Center programcoordinator. As it seems with her predecessors, Reynolds attributes one main reason for her interest.
Thursday's town of Pembroke board meeting. Photo by Rachel Doktor.
Two days after more than 100 local residents turned up at a town of Pembroke board meeting to protest increased property assessments, the board voted in an emergency session on Saturday to roll back the increase for 2024.
GLOW Out! Executive Director Sara Vacin in her office at First Presbyterian Church in Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck
Sara Vacin is pretty stoked about this year’s GLOW Out! event, which will not only draw upon her prior theater background but has garnered the attention of the New York State Legislature, which awarded the nonprofit a mental health grant as one of about only five local recipients, she says.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) announced today that his previously scheduled mobile office hours in Brockport on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Seymour Library have been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Hawley and his staff plan to reschedule these hours and will provide an update when more information is made available.
“I encourage everyone to visit as soon as we reschedule our office hours in Brockport. My office is ready to take your calls and help address your needs,” Hawley said.
You can contact Hawley’s office by phone at 585-589-5780, or by email at HawleyS@nyassembly.gov for more information.
The City of Batavia is seeking applications from income-qualified home owners for housing repairs.
The City of Batavia received federal Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) to provide grant assistance to 10 income-qualified homeowners within the City of Batavia. The Residential Rehabilitation program offers assistance of up to $25,000 per structure for repairs and basic structural deficiencies. Repairs include foundation work, exterior work, roofing, siding, windows, heating, electrical, plumbing, and more.
Interested applicants should submit a Residential Rehabilitation Program application and accompanying documentation by June 1, 2024. For more information, details on program requirements, and applications visit https://www.batavianewyork.com/ or contact Julie Dahlie, Grants Administrator at jdahlie@batavianewyork.com, 585-565-4423.
The City of Batavia is seeking general contractors to complete housing rehabilitation projects for low-income homeowners who qualify. The Housing Rehabilitation Program is a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and is federally funded through Homes and Community Renewal and administered by the City of Batavia. Qualifying contractors must be able to provide the following:
1. Valid business license and insurance 2. IRS Tax ID (EIN) 3. DUNS Number 4. Certification of asbestos and lead testing
Projects may include replacing roofs, performing weatherization, electrical, plumbing, and similar improvements. Minority and Women owned Business Enterprises are encouraged to apply. Contractors are subject to Davis Bacon Labor Standards and Wage Rates.
Any general contractors interested in becoming qualified to bid on CDBG Housing Rehabilitation projects should contact Julie Dahlie, Grants Administrator, at the jdahlie@batavianewyork.com or 585-565-4423 by June 1, 2024.
All contractors on the list of qualified and approved Contractors will be notified via email of any bid invitation.
Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian, and Sandra Wolfley, winner of the Wings Over Batavia prize drawing, at the Genesee County Home Show. Photo by Lisa Ace.
Alexander resident Sandra Wolfley won The Batavian's prize drawing Sunday at the Genesee County Home Show, which was on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena in Batavia.
Wolfley won a pair of VIP Pilot's Lounge Tickets for the Wings Over Batavia Air Show, set for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at the Genesee County Airport.
There were more than 160 people in the contest, which required home show attendees to fill out an entry form and stamp it with The Batavian's logo.
Thanks to Wings Over Batavia for partnering with us on this promotion.
Michael Eula, 2023 file photo. Photo by Howard Owens.
After talking to The Batavian in November 2023 about the premise and subject matter of his latest book, “Historic Chronicles of Genesee County,” county Historian Michael Eula will finally get to celebrate the official release on Monday.
The book is a twofer of sorts: it’s a local collection of essays on how American history affected Genesee County, and, per the stamp on the book’s jacket cover, it’s Made in the USA. Throw in assassinations, immigration, presidential politics and suffragists, and you’ve got a plethora of hot subjects as future reading material.
Eula said that one of his favorite chapters while working on the book was about the Cold War. While doing his research, he learned how much locals disagreed with the Korean War via letters to the editor in the local newspaper. He has also wondered—and examined—if all of society’s anxiety was really warranted during those Cold War days in which preparedness drills became more common.
“On Friday, Sept. 14, 1956, a civil defense exercise commenced at Batavia’s Veterans Administration Hospital.
At ten o’clock that morning, civil defense sirens blared, announcing a simulated fire raging in Ward D, part of a disaster test designed to recreate the conditions that would result from an explosion produced by an enemy attack. A second simulation that day include a nuclear attack that resulted in the destruction of the Batavia Post Office building. During this second simulated attack, a postal truck carried emergency supplies and equipment to a relocation site reached via West Main Street and Redfield Parkway. A second postal truck supervised by the foreman of mails, Arthur Norton, transported more people and equipment over Jefferson Avenue, Washington Avenue, Ellicott Avenue, Richmond Avenue and Redfield Parkway. A third postal truck remained on standby, while the Veterans Hospital supply officers, John Lane, ordered one truck to facilitate removal from what was left of the post office building while simultaneously keeping eight additional vehicles on standby. Officials drew on the help of volunteers responding to sirens located throughout the county.
In its Saturday edition, the Daily News reported that the exercise was an unqualified success. This drill serves as a stark reminder of the political and cultural realities of Cold War America in 1956 — and the anxiety regarding the possibility of a nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union apparent in the county.
Why did a disaster produced by the enemy take place at all? Why was there a clear anxiety about its real possibility, who was this enemy and how could such an intrusion reach into the heart of an otherwise stable and peaceful Genesee County in 1956, Eula wrote.
He evaluates the situation in a section titled “What Happened and Why.” One line seems to answer it best: "The cultural preoccupation with a communist threat remained as apparent in Genesee County as it was in the nation at large. Local media continuously stressed the lethal quality of communist threats, subversion and attacks.”
Furthermore, “newspaper articles emphasized the necessity of American involvement in the Korean War, as evidenced by the participation of county residents in a conflict half a world away,” he wrote, using Batavia Daily News headlines in 1953, such as the one proclaiming “Airman from Oakfield Expects Duty in Korea,” as evidence.
“There were constant reminders of how hot the Cold War was capable of becoming and of how tragic the consequences were for some county families,” Eula said.
He cited the example of Private John V. Peca of Le Roy, who at 24 died during this time, leaving behind a wife, brother and parents, and whose remains were returned from Korea.
“Such stories abounded in the earlier years of the Cold War as the fighting raged in Korea,” Eula said. “Other accounts revealed that soldiers initially listed as missing in action subsequently reappeared as killed in action, as 18-year-old Army Corporal Norman F. Smart of Batavia. His brother, Private First Class Robert D. Smart, was also in Korea. While there, he suffered wounds.”
And those soldiers from the county that were not killed or wounded “sometimes languished as prisoners of war in communist prison camps,” he said.
“This, too, brought home to rural Genesee County residents the nation’s very real conflict with the communist world,” Eula said. “The many media accounts of those killed, wounded and mistreated by communists during a very hot Cold War period reminded readers of the threat posed by the communist world.”
There are six chapters in which Eula takes a swim in how national affairs affected locals at the time:
1. In Only Six Years: Genesee County Reacts to the Assassinations of The Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr.;
2. Batavia Explodes: Cold War Anxiety and the Preparedness Drill of 1956;
3. Immigrants to White Ethnics;
4. Hoover, Roosevelt, and the New Deal in Genesee County;
5. In Western New York?: The Ku Klux Klan in Genesee County in the 1920s;
6. Activists, Farm Women, and Professionals
What illumination might a farm woman have to share? Genie Green’s mother wrote, on Jan. 24, 1887:
“There are periods in our lives when some new book or acquaintance comes to us like an added sun in the heavens, lighting the darkest places and chasing every shadow away.”
Eula noted that for many days after that entry, she spoke of drudgery in “doing odd jobs.” But then “an unexpected and particularly long entry appeared." On her 89th birthday, Genie’s mother wrote, “I can best honor it by consecrating myself to work for every good … for progressive thought and for moral and spiritual growth and development.”
“Much of her remaining diary entries exhibit much the same — her deep desire to light the dark places in a woman’s life,” Eula said.
When all was said and done, and documented and written — what was his conclusion at page 125?
“I started to write this book wondering where to begin. I now end it wondering where to stop,” Eula said. “There remains so much to write. Nonetheless, I consciously selected areas of the county’s past serving to illuminate the reality faced by people living there. This is admittedly not a traditional history, as I did not confine myself exclusively to events or to an orderly chronological span of time.
“Genesee County’s history is a long stretch of time punctuated by specific realities. Those realities were influenced by the national events addressed in this book. In turn, local perceptions of those events shaped the understanding of nationwide phenomena,” he said. “There was an underlying continuity in the county’s history. While much changed since 1802, much also remained the same. The history of the county remained anchored in a belief in individual liberty. The enlargement of individual liberty was viewed as the cornerstone of a good life.”
The History by the Hearth series will feature Eula from 1:30 to 3 p.m. April 27 at Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross St., Batavia.
He will read from the book, and a book signing will follow. The book will be available for purchase before and on the day of the event.
His book may also be purchased at Holland Land Office Museum and online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. In addition to being the county historian, Eula is also Professor Emeritus of History at El Camino College. He is the author of more than 30 articles and books in American and European history, including “Between Peasant and Urban Villager: Italian-Americans of New Jersey and New York, 1880 to 1980--The Structures of Counter-Discourse.”
He was named a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow three times, and received the DeAngelis Prize in History in 2000. He is an honors graduate of Rutgers and the Regent University School of Law, where he received an LLM degree. He holds an MA and a PhD in history from the University of California-Irvine.
A young lady models one of the several prom dresses brought to the NYS School for the Blind in Batavia by Cass Healy of Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More as part of a multi-county free prom dresses program. Submitted Photo
When it comes to high school proms, there are most likely three camps of students: those who are definitely planning to attend, those who have no interest in such an event, and then those who would like to attend but don’t have the money to afford all the trappings of what prom is known for: a lavish, fashionable affair.
Cass Healy, store manager of Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, has been working to bridge the gap for that last group so that students can obtain the necessary attire and extras so they can enjoy the spring event as well.
“Last year I had started to hold Prom Events here at the store in which I would allow students to come in and pick out a prom dress free of charge in order to attend prom. I also worked with a few schools that gave us a chance to bring some in to allow the students to look at the dresses. We are having the same event this year, with a few new perks,” Healy said to The Batavian. “At (this year’s) store event, we will be having a couple of hundred dresses, suits, makeup and other accessories out for the students to pick from. We also will have a drawing for free prom tickets — with the help of the Ministry of Concern, which has set out jars for “Pennies for Prom” in local shops — and we will be raffling off gift cards for those who need some help purchasing items to prepare for prom.
There will also be a makeup artist on hand to provide students with tips on how to do their makeup for the big night, she said. This event is not limited to Orleans County residents. It is also open to Genesee County students.
She recently took a bunch of dresses to the School for the Blind in Batavia, providing prom dresses to 18 girls who needed them. Healy said that she is willing to bring dresses to any school district in Genesee County upon request.
Why does she do it?
“One particular girl we had last year was able to get a dress, shoes, accessories, and all her makeup and hair needs taken care of through us. She had informed me that she had won tickets, but due to her family’s financial situation, she did not think that she would be able to go,” Healy said. “She had expressed her appreciation many times and was very excited that she would be able to go and experience this. She had also sent us some photos of her at prom with her friends. Truly one of those ‘this is why I do this’ moments.”
Her event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at 131 S. Main St., Albion, and is open to students beyond Orleans County. It will be a fun night with free prom dresses, suits, accessories, and hair and makeup tips.
“I am hoping to reach out to more students this year in any of the surrounding counties. I believe that everyone should be able to experience prom no matter their financial situation,” she said. “So here at Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More, we are always accepting dresses, suits, shoes, makeup, hair supplies and other accessories for these events. We encourage the community to check their closets for their prom-appropriate attire and bring it by the store to help our youth make these lasting memories.”Cass Healy of Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More brought to the NYS School for the Blind in Batavia
For more information or to arrange a school event, contact her at chealy@caoginc.org.
Submitted Photos of dresses during the NYS School for the Blind event.
The Pavilion Fire Department accepted a donation on Friday made possible through the generosity of the Batavia Middle School’s dress-down days.
Rebecca Matteson, the mother of a patient treated by the department in May 2021, made the donation to the department.
Jeffrey DeMare was involved in an automobile accident involving one box truck and two semis at the curve on Route 63 and Peoria Road. Thanks to quick actions taken by a good Samaritan and a State trooper from Wyoming County, who both applied a tourniquet and with the Pavilion Fire Department providing Basic Life Support, Jeffrey was able to make a full recovery after multiple surgeries.
Ken Weaver, president of the Pavilion Fire Department, accepted the check. Jeffrey is standing to the right of Rebecca. Also in the photo are firefighters who responded to the call.
For 2023, the Firefighter of the Year in the Stafford Volunteer Fire Department was a collective award, going to the Top 10 responders (11 members, counting a tie) for the year.
The Firefighters of the Year are Brian Breemes, Randal Henning, Tim Eckdahl, Chris Penkszyk, Mark Dougherty, Ashley Swartzenberg, Jason Smith, Ken Collins, Brian Pocock, Don Hall, and Ben Pocock.
The firematic officers installed for 2024 are:
Timothy Eckdahl, chief
Brian Pocock, 1st assistant chief
Brian Breemes, 2nd assistant chief
Kari Breemes, 3rd assistant chief
Jason Smith, 4th assistant chief
Randal Henning, rescue squad captain
Chad Rambach, rescue squad lietuenent
Donald Hall, fire police captain
Ben Fox, fire police lieutenant
Brian Pocock, master mechanic
Brian Breemes and Matt Hendershott, training officers
Julie Bobo and Ashley Swartzenberg, chief's secretary
The administrative officers:
James Call, president
Kari Breemes, vice president
Bonnie Logsdon, secretary
Stephanie Call, treasurer
Trustees: Stanley Gere, Jason Smith, Ashley Swartzenberg, Chad Rambach, Stephanie Call
Auditors: Ben Fox and Kenneth Collins.
The dinner was held on Saturday at the Batavia Country Club.
These are photos from Saturday's Genesee County Home Show, which the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce hosted and organized.
The final day of the home show is Sunday (today), and it runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday's show was well attended, and about a dozen new vendors, plus many of the usual locally owned home improvement-related vendors, were on the floor of the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.
Elijah Abdella wins the 11th Annual Mr. Batavia competition Friday at Batavia High School. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Probably the best Mr. Batavia in its 11th year history.
That’s how contestant Harry Southall described this year’s contest, which featured 13 young men on stage Friday evening at Batavia High School. After Southall came in as first runner-up, he was elated to have been part of such a team effort even though each individual was competing for the number one spot.
“I mean, it was just electric,” Southall said. “We all did amazing. I knew it was gonna be close, all of us did really good. But I was really excited. When I heard my name, it was an awesome feeling.”
He spoke about the backstage bond that he and the dozen others forged, including Mr. Batavia himself, Elijah Abdella. The contest appeared to be “a complete toss-up” until that very moment when his name was called, Abdella said.
“I was very surprised. Every single person in Mr. Batavia this year did phenomenally,” Abdella said. “It definitely had a lot of ups and downs. In the beginning, I was actually very confident. And then in the week going into the show, I was very nervous because some parts of my lip sync and my talent just weren't working properly, and I was very stressed. But I'm very glad that they they worked during the show.
“There's so many guys in here that I just would not have ever spoken to if we didn't do Mr. Batavia together,” he said. “And there are so many connections that we've made by doing this that will last a very long time.”
Southall agreed that he would likely remain friends with the entire group “for years to come.”
The 11th annual Mr. Batavia packed in a big crowd for another well-attended, exciting competition, event Chairwoman Lisa Robinson said. This year's competition surpassed the fundraising total of $5,000, bringing the 11-year total to more than $42,000, Robinson said.
The 13 contestants competed in various categories from talent and lip sync to dance, swimsuit and tux. Each one represented a different charity, and the first place winner, Elijah Abdella, will receive 50 percent of the proceeds to donate to his selected charity, Genesee Cancer Assistance.
Brian Calderon, who said he was feeling nervous in the week leading up to Friday, came in second runner-up.
“I was pacing back and forth backstage, but after getting it done, it feels like such an accomplishment to me and just a big, big obstacle to overcome in my high school career,” Calderon said. “Some of these guys, I haven't really known that well beforehand, but now I've known them like they're my friends for five years. We've all gotten close as a group and it's been really a joy.”
Southall and Calderon will each receive 25 percent of the proceeds for their charities, the Batavia VA and Suicide Prevention of Genesee County, respectively.
Other contestants and their charities were:
Ryan Cox – Habitat for Humanity and Uconnect Care
Owen Halpin – The Michael Napoleone Foundation
Orion Lama – The American Heart Association, Buffalo
Eli Michalak – The Ricky Palermo Foundation
Ryan Plath – The Batavia City Schools Foundation
Parris Price – The Salvation Army
Emmanual Richardson – Go Art!
Patrick Suozzi – The Red Cross
Brock Warren – Crossroads House
Peyton Woeller – Genesee County Mental Health
Judges were Trevor Sherwood, Quentin Branciforte, Cameron Hardy, Dominick Brown and Carly Morgan.
The Batavia Housing Authority is seeking a positive, hardworking teammate to perform a variety of outdoor landscaping tasks, primarily mowing, with some trimming and cleanup work. The Groundskeeper is independently responsible for outdoor landscaping tasks on a weekly basis with some flexibility. This job may require some weekend hours when necessary. Part-time position Pay Range: $19.00/hr - $22.00/hr Anticipated start date: May 2024 Application deadline: April 29, 2024 See full job description at: https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/Groundskeeper.pdf Complete Civil Service Application at: https://cms1files.revize.com/geneseecountynew/CivilServiceApplication2022Revision-09.22.22.pdf Contact Information Nathan Varland Executive Director Batavia Housing Authority 400 East Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 (585) 344-1888 nvarland@bataviahousing.org Location: Batavia
For Rent - Lower 1 Bedroom Apartment Private country setting, lower one bedroom apartment with all appliances and parking. Sunroom with gas fireplace and patio. Includes water and heat. NEW LOWER PRICE! $1000/Month plus electric. No pets, no smoking. References and security deposit required. Available June 1st, 2024. Call 585-344-3141.
